TRIBUTE AND CONTRIBUTE
Eudist Retirement Campaign
This summer, we are saying "thank you!" to our Eudist fathers. These men have been with us at crucial moments, in sorrow and in joy; they’ve been our mentors, healers, and friends. Have we told them lately how much they mean to us?
Here are the most recent stories of gratitude submitted by people like you:
Do you have a story?
Use the form below to share your memories, photos, or simply to say "thank you."
If you need any assistance navigating this page or submitting your memory, please contact us at (209) 783-8337.
CONTRIBUTE
Give back to the men in black!
Every year the cost of living goes up. Healthcare costs are increasing even faster.
Most of us saved for retirement during our working years, tucking away a percentage of our salary, earning promotions throughout our careers, and hoping our kids would be there to help out… just in case. Then somewhere around the age of 65, opportunity opens up to take some well-earned rest.
Priests are another story.
…especially in religious institutes like Franciscans, Jesuits, or Eudists. They work for minimum wage or lower; promotions never come with a pay raise; and if seminarians are the “kids” who could ease their burdens, our nationwide vocations crisis has been especially bad news.
Retirement age for priests has increased to 75 in most US dioceses, and raising it even further is being considered. They rarely talk about it, but if you ask a priest they’ll likely tell you: they expect to continue working until they “die with their boots on.”
Supporting them can be a meaningful way to give back to our priests.
Click the box below to make a gift towards retirement. Please consider making a monthly recurring gift, as the fathers’ costs will also be recurring.
Our target? $40,000 this year, but that’s a drop in the bucket.
Every year the US Council of Catholic Bishops evaluates our retirement fund and contributes ~$15-20k to it from the nationwide second-collection they sponsor. However, according to their actuaries our fund should be closer to $3.6m based on the number of priests we have and the likeliness they’ll need specialized care in the near future.
When we began asking for help in 2015, we had only 8% of their target in our retirement savings. As of 2022, we were closer to 50% but that could disappear all too quickly if one of our priests needs specialized care like a nursing home.
2022 PROGRESS
For those interested in statistics on the rising cost of medical care and the crisis facing retiring priests and nuns, see this data from the bishops’ Religious Retirement Office. If you do follow the link out to read it, please don’t forget to come back to this page if you feel called to contribute.
